Second on the tax delinquency list is Council President Darrell Clarke's district, which includes Strawberry Mansion, Brewerytown and parts of Center City. Tax deadbeats there owe the city $88,807,574. Clarke isn't surprised.

"The reality is that in my Council district, we unfortunately have ... probably close to the majority of the vacant properties in the city," he said.

That's a problem because a large number of vacant properties are also tax delinquent.

In face of problem, Council powers limited

However, Council can only do so much about the problem, according to Clarke.

"Under the charter, we're extremely limited in terms of our executive powers," he said. "But the reality is we are constantly asked about vacant properties."

Council members aren't powerless, though. For clues to what Council can do, look to the districts with the smallest delinquency problem.

Northeast Philadelphia, including Mayfair, Fox Chase and Pennypack, is home to the city's smallest delinquency problem. Councilman Bobby Henon represents part of that area. Property-tax delinquents in his district owe $17,211,032, less than one-fifth of the total amount owed in Bass' district. Plus, according to an AxisPhilly analysis, Henon's district actually has more properties than Bass' district does.

Henon has an idea why his district fares relatively well.

"I think the unemployment rate is not as high as other districts," he said. "It's a working-class, traditional blue-collar district."

Henon, who just took office last year, is clearly lucky. At the same time, he has sent out letters to tax delinquents and pushed them to pay up as part of his "Bad Neighbor Initiative."

No stopping sheriff's sales

Henon said he also refuses to help postpone sheriff's sales when delinquent property owners come calling.

"I've received many calls for stays for sheriff's sales," he said. "I absolutely do not get involved in any sheriff's sales."

Henon said he's been encouraging other lawmakers to follow suit. He is optimistic that Council, which held hearings on the tax delinquency dilemma earlier this year, will help fix the problem.

Zack Stalberg, president of the government watchdog group Committee of Seventy, hopes times really have changed. He said some former Council members actually helped connected property-tax delinquents shirk their responsibilities in the past.

"Now there are signs that Council people and administration people, everybody, wants to see this done in a more fair way," he said. "But only time will really tell whether this new system can be fiddled with in quite the same way the old one could be."

This story was reported through a news coverage partnership between NBC10.com and NewsWorks.org